Space Station Lounge

Space Station Lounge plays short, catchy folk tunes, but singer and multi-instrumentalist Turtle adds cosmic touches befitting the group's name, such as sci-fi soundtrack keyboards and the odd Stephen Hawking sample. Turtle works alone, as isolated as Major Tom, except during "Moonbird," on which he duets with Olgostin from Italian one-woman band September 29th. Her delicate voice subtly complements his watery, distorted delivery over smooth-jazz electric guitars (in that good, George Benson way). The instrumental title track, with its acoustic fingerpicking, provides the purest folk experience, and "Disappear," with its psychedelic shivers and Turtle's airy intonation of its title, floats gently into atmospheric territory. Space Station Lounge's futuristic revisions to the folk template don't come at the expense of gentle melodies: The sounds of progress aren't usually this relaxing.